Seljuk Geometric Patterns with Miroslaw Majewski

SELJUK GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

Place: Online Zoom Sessions

Dates: October 04 – December 20, 2024 (12 Fridays, 2 hours each)

Course Hours: each Friday 7 PM - 9 PM Istanbul Time (use https://time.is to convert your time)

Level: Basic and Intermediate

Language: English with Turkish translation of more complex issues

Group Size: 50 participants

Other Activities: Discussing historical issues and Seljuk architecture

A laptop is needed with Geometer's Sketchpad software installed.

Seljuks came to Anatolia from the East via Uzbekistan and Iran. While they passed different areas, they created specific artworks that heavily depended on available materials and skills. The local stone and clay were the most frequently used in Anatolia. Therefore we can find patterns carved in stone or stone-like materials or made using ceramic tiles. Patterns in stone were mostly interlaced, while ceramic tiles had specific coloring schemes. This workshop will explore various patterns from historical Seljuk buildings in Anatolia. On a few occasions, we will return to Iran to compare Seljuk designs from Iran with those in Turkey.

We will discuss their specific features, possible variations of Seljuk patterns, the geometries used to create them, and artistic decorations. In Anatolia, we can find a huge diversity of geometric patterns. We will start briefly with hexagonal designs. We discussed them in the previous course. Then, we will move to Seljuk patterns based on decagonal geometry and octagonal designs.

This will be a workshop using computer technology – Geometer’s Sketchpad for drawing patterns and Inkscape for adding extra features to our patterns.

Information about available versions of GSP can be found at:

https://symmetrica.wordpress.com/gsp-2/

In this workshop, we will cover the following subjects:

Using Geometer’s Sketchpad to draw geometric patterns

Polygons in hexagonal, decagonal, and octagonal geometries

Anatolian Seljuk’s design principles (interlace and grids)

A selection of patterns from various mosques and madrasahs from Anatolia.

Teacher and Students

Miroslaw Majewski (Prof. Dr) is a former professor at the New York Institute of Technology.

Currently, Professor Emeritus at NYIT. Many years of research in the geometry of art and technology for mathematics. Author of numerous books and publications (many of them related to the geometry of patterns). Designer of many geometric patterns – some are reconstructions of well-known patterns, and some are entirely new.

Students: This is a basic and intermediate course; anybody interested in drawing geometric patterns can enter it and learn a lot. This course can be useful for high school and university students and mathematics teachers.

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